The Oilers' dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lived up to the hype, trading passes for goals in a showcase of skill that reinforced why McDavid is pacing the NHL in scoring and Draisaitl isn't too far behind.
There was Draisaitl's one-timer from his trademark spot on the power play, and then the two barreling into the Wild zone for a 2-on-1 that McDavid deposited cleanly.
But as impressive as Edmonton's top players were, they didn't lead their team to victory.
That's because they weren't the only stars on the ice, and the Wild's shone a little brighter.
Kirill Kaprizov's second straight three-point effort set the tone for a 5-3 win on Thursday in front of 17,651 at Xcel Energy Center in the first of three clashes in 12 days between Western Conference rivals.
"He's a real good player," McDavid said of Kaprizov. "He skates really well, makes a lot happen."
Not only did Kaprizov's goal and two assists extend his career-longest point streak to 10, he also set a franchise record with a nine-game assist streak.
Kaprizov is up to 14 goals, 16 assists and 30 points, all team highs.
"I just tried to play my game," Kaprizov said in English. "That's it. Good the team won, and everybody played hard, strong, don't give up a lot of chances to Edmonton. We played good."
After Kaprizov, McDavid and Draisaitl factored in the game's first four goals, the Wild's secondary scoring took over to run away from an Oilers squad completing a back-to-back.
Tied at 2, Frederick Gaudreau's backhander pushed the Wild ahead at 13 minutes, 59 seconds of the second period before Sam Steel accepted a stretch pass from Mats Zuccarello and deked the puck behind Edmonton goalie Jack Campbell for the game-winner 3:13 into the third, his second goal in as many games.
After Zuccarello scored at 11:48, a goal assisted on by Kaprizov, Klim Kostin snuck one more puck behind Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with four seconds left.
Fleury's 18-save performance moved him past Tony Esposito for the fourth-most stops in NHL history. His best came in the third on an Edmonton power play, with Fleury's blocker getting just enough of a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shot.
"As a goalie, those are the ones I like," said Fleury, who boasts 24,771 career saves.
This was the Wild's first game since Sunday, but it was the Oilers who had the edge early in their third game in four nights.
Draisaitl wired in a one-timer on the power play 11:17 into the first period, a tic-tac-toe sequence put in motion by McDavid, before the Wild responded with their own power-play goal 1:51 into the second when Joel Eriksson Ek buried the rebound from a Kaprizov shot that bounced off the end boards.
The assist was the 100th of Kaprizov's NHL career, and he's the fastest to reach that milestone among players who made their debut with the Wild.
But the action didn't stay even for long. Just 2:31 later, Draisaitl set up McDavid on a 2-on-1 for McDavid's NHL-leading 43rd point. Both Oilers stars finished with a goal and assist.
Cue Kaprizov. He capitalized on the power play, getting off a backhand as he was falling to the ice at 10:53.
"It's the same work ethic every single night with this guy," coach Dean Evason said. "Like every single night he works like that."
"Those power play-goals were important for us," said Eriksson Ek, whose assist on Kaprizov's goal sealed his seventh point in four games. "They really got us going and kept that momentum forward."
This tie was also extinguished quickly, but the Wild were the ones to surge ahead for their seventh straight victory vs. the Oilers that featured the 15th, 16th and 17th points by Kaprizov during his 10-game point streak.
Kaprizov, who has had his parents staying with him, is two games shy of matching the Wild record.
"A lot of food," he said. "More energy."
